A 10,000-link chain runs the length of the wood-floored hall at Verbena High School as students work to put up homecoming decorations.(Photo by Steven Calhoun)

By STEVEN CALHOUN/Staff Writer

Verbena High School students were hard at work Tuesday morning, putting up decorations in the hall and building a chain made of thousands of paper links.

The students were dressed as Disney characters as part of their homecoming dress-up days this week. A group of students dressed as Dalmatians walked by as a girl stood on a ladder to put up a sign above her class’s door.

“It’s a tradition,” said Sarah Sanford, one of the Dalmatians. “We’ll make it our best year and go all out for our last year.”

Sanford and the rest of the Dalmatian crew are all seniors, and were working on their door decoration in hopes of it being the best.

Students at Verbena decorate the doors to their classrooms annually as part of their homecoming festivities. Thursday, the decorations will be judged and a winning class will be chosen. Grades K-12 participate, according to Jane Cleckler.

“I graduated here in ‘84 and … I know we’ve always decorated doors,” said Cleckler. “We don’t tell them what to do, they decide. The kids who are creative and can draw, it’s their chance to show out.”

She estimated the tradition to be at least 50 years old.

Behind Cleckler, students were hard at work on a long chain of paper strips. The chain is over 10,000 pieces long already, and growing. The chain ran the length of the wood-floored main hall and turned to go down another.

Verbena’s Junior class is selling pieces of the chain for ten cents a link as a fundraiser for prom. Cleckler expects they will raise over $1,000 this year.

The hustle and bustle of homecoming activities are all leading up to the football game against Keith on Friday. The Verbena Red Devils will play at 7 p.m. on home turf.